Poland under the magnifying glass of Brussels. It’s about great help for man
The EC is investigating whether Poland has granted PLN 116 million in public aid in Niepołomice. There are jobs and competition in the game.
The European Commission has started formal proceedings in the case of public aid granted by Poland for the expansion of the MAN Trucks plant in Niepołomice. It is about support with a total value of PLN 116 million, of which the vast majority – as much as PLN 105.6 million – constitutes an exemption from corporate income tax (CIT), and the remaining PLN 10.7 million is a targeted subsidy.
Increasing production capacity
According to the information provided by the Polish authorities in 2024, this help was to increase the production capacity of the factory located in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. This region meets the conditions qualifying it for regional support in accordance with the EU principles of state aid. However, the EC points out that despite the positive impact of investments on economic development and employment – we are talking about 1,400 new jobs – it is necessary to assess whether this support does not interfere with the competition in the EU market.
In the opinion of the Commission, public aid must meet certain conditions. It should be limited to the level necessary to attract the investment to less developed EU regions and show the so -called The effect of encouragement. This means that support must have a real impact on the investment decision, which would not have been made without this help.
Doubts
The EC has doubts whether the MAN investment in Niepołomice was actually dependent on the assistance received, or whether it would be implemented. Therefore, one of the key elements of the investigation will be to determine whether without financial support from the state budget, the investor would decide to expand the factory in this place.
The European Commission emphasized that the initiation of proceedings does not prejudge the final resolution of the case. The investigation aims to thoroughly examine whether the awarded public aid was in line with EU law and whether it actually contributed to the decision to implement the project in Poland.
